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Music Charts

Breaking into the charts is a sure-fire way to help your music career’s momentum and reach new listeners through press and radio airplay. But how are the world’s biggest music charts calculated, and how many sales or streams do you need to stand a chance of climbing into the Official UK, Billboard and ARIA charts? Before your music can enter the charts, you’ll need official chart registration.

How do the official music charts work?

Figuring out exactly how the world’s official music charts are determined can be a complicated business, often with many different factors at play, including downloads, streaming, radio airplay and physical sales. To make things simpler, here’s a quick overview of how the music charts are calculated around the world:

How are the Official UK Charts calculated?

The Official UK Chart is calculated by both sales and streams, with a streaming ratio of 150:1. This means that 150 individual streams are equal to one sale, and your complete sales total is worked out accordingly. For example, if your track gets 150,000 streams across the various online platforms like Spotify, they will be counted as 1,000 sales by the charts and included in your final sales total. Other sales include both paid digital downloads and physical releases.

How many sales do I need to get into the Official UK charts?

In recent years, the average UK Top 40 single will have made at least 8,000 sales, while the number one track will have sold around 100,000 copies. The figures for the Official UK album chart are similar, with the average top 40 album selling over 4,000, and the number one typically achieving sales of around 60,000.

How are the Billboard Charts calculated?

The Billboard charts are calculated by several different factors, depending on the specific chart. For example, the Billboard Hot 100 and other genre-based charts take sales, streaming and radio airplay into account. High-ranking tracks and albums can be driven by one or all of these different avenues, with some of the biggest songs charting thanks to extensive radio airplay, while others climb the charts through their streaming power.

How many sales do I need to get into the Billboard charts?

Billboard manages a wide range of charts based on a number of factors, including physical sales, digital downloads, radio airplay and streaming. As such, it is difficult to precisely estimate the number of “sales” you’ll need to break into any of Billboard charts. However, here you can find a detailed overview of how Billboard decide their rankings.
How are Australia’s ARIA Charts calculated?

The ARIA Charts in Australia consider streaming as well as physical and digital download sales, but have not disclosed the ratio to which streaming counts towards an artist’s sales total and chart position. ARIA also state on their website that multiple sales by a single consumer may not be included in the sales total, and that it only accepts digital and streaming sales from certain retailers, including the biggest online major music stores. Here you can see the full list of accepted retailers.

How many sales do I need to get into the ARIA charts?

While there isn’t a specific number of sales needed to break into the ARIA charts, it is known for being relatively easy to climb the rankings without thousands upon thousands of sales. The ARIA Charts recently laid claim to the lowest selling album ever to reach the number one spot in Australia, after selling as few as 2,140 copies. So logically, just a few hundred sales will give you a decent chance of being featured in the Australian charts.

Remember, these charts are not the be all and end all of the music biz. The are plenty of online charts and playlists across iTunes and Spotify that can help to give your track a boost. The key is to build up a following and promote your music as much as possible through press, social media and live gigs. Good luck! Has your music ever been featured in the official charts? Or have your tracks climbed the iTunes charts? Let us know your stories, questions, tips and advice in the comments below and share this essential info with your fellow musicians!